When does McCarthy start?

[PA1Viking]

As much as I can't wait to see this kid take control of the offense I honestly would be ok if he sits out the entire season. I would be fine if he spent the entire season attached to the hip of his coaches grooming him for a 25 debut. In addition to that I can also see Darnold having a big season operating in this system with the amount of weapons he will be surrounded with. Those who question Sam's ability fail to look at the teams he played on. This guy has a good arm if coach OConnell can reel him in and eliminate some of the turnovers playoffs will not be out of the question.

[VikingLord]

I hope you're right, but I got the odds at 20% he starts game 1. I have odds at 60% he's starting by game 7 or earlier.

I agree the odds are small he starts week 1 but if he does, man, I'll be super excited about his prospects at QB going forward.

[allday1991]

Interesting side note, Jj has went from +1400 (when we first drafted him) to + 900 (current) to win offensive rookie of the year. Fairly big increase especially after KOC named Sam the starter for training camp.

That's very strange. After another guy is called the starter the odds should have got longer and not shorter.

I stand corrected, his odds have fallen drastically to -1700 for McCarthy to win rookie of the year. Oddly enough Bo Nix Despite reports of looking great in mini camp and still in a battle for qb1 on his roster comes in at -2000. Interesting to say the least.

[VikingsVictorious]

That's very strange. After another guy is called the starter the odds should have got longer and not shorter.

I stand corrected, his odds have fallen drastically to -1700 for McCarthy to win rookie of the year. Oddly enough Bo Nix Despite reports of looking great in mini camp and still in a battle for qb1 on his roster comes in at -2000. Interesting to say the least.

I'll be shocked if Nix doesn't start game one. I'll be very surprised if McCarthy does. I might have to put $100 down on Nix to win the RoY.

[allday1991]

I stand corrected, his odds have fallen drastically to -1700 for McCarthy to win rookie of the year. Oddly enough Bo Nix Despite reports of looking great in mini camp and still in a battle for qb1 on his roster comes in at -2000. Interesting to say the least.

I'll be shocked if Nix doesn't start game one. I'll be very surprised if McCarthy does. I might have to put $100 down on Nix to win the RoY.

I think the majority agree with you, I think Vegas even agrees with you. It’s likely Nix starts day 1 and it’s unlikely McCarthy does, even still McCarthy has better odds to win rookie of the year. Dunno what that says about Nix or more likely the talent around them.

[cogitator]

Just when you think ESPN is the worst company ever, they actually produce a very good article that isn't paywalled. Interesting tidbit - the Vikings planned to try to sign Brock Purdy to a free agent contract, missed it by one draft pick.

Every time I read something about O'Connell (this isn't quite about him, but enough), he seems thoughtful, intelligent, and a quality guy.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/405 ... j-mccarthy

[allday1991]

I think things are going to get real interesting during pre season.

https://www.si.com/college/michigan/foo ... ta-vikings

“Presumed starter Sam Darnold has made some flashy plays, but also has made some head-scratching mistakes as well for a veteran quarterback. During the red zone portion of Saturday's training camp, Darnold stared down a Vikings' receiver and was picked off by Minnesota safety Harrison Smith.But while Darnold looked so-so during that portion, the former Michigan star looked lights out. It was reported McCarthy had just five plays inside the Vikings' red zone on Saturday and he took full advantage of it. In those five plays, McCarthy threw four touchdowns.”

[VikingsVictorious]

I think things are going to get real interesting during pre season.

https://www.si.com/college/michigan/foo ... ta-vikings

“Presumed starter Sam Darnold has made some flashy plays, but also has made some head-scratching mistakes as well for a veteran quarterback. During the red zone portion of Saturday's training camp, Darnold stared down a Vikings' receiver and was picked off by Minnesota safety Harrison Smith.But while Darnold looked so-so during that portion, the former Michigan star looked lights out. It was reported McCarthy had just five plays inside the Vikings' red zone on Saturday and he took full advantage of it. In those five plays, McCarthy threw four touchdowns.”

And what could have been a 5th was dropped.

[VikingLord]

I think things are going to get real interesting during pre season.

https://www.si.com/college/michigan/foo ... ta-vikings

“Presumed starter Sam Darnold has made some flashy plays, but also has made some head-scratching mistakes as well for a veteran quarterback. During the red zone portion of Saturday's training camp, Darnold stared down a Vikings' receiver and was picked off by Minnesota safety Harrison Smith.But while Darnold looked so-so during that portion, the former Michigan star looked lights out. It was reported McCarthy had just five plays inside the Vikings' red zone on Saturday and he took full advantage of it. In those five plays, McCarthy threw four touchdowns.”

So much of being a successful pro QB comes down to moxie. It's a hard thing to characterize but the great QBs just aren't afraid and don't let the fear of mistakes determine what they do. This can lead to some recklessness with the ball and it can go against them at times, but the great ones just make plays that the lesser ones won't attempt.

Now I'm not saying McCarthy's performance in one red zone session in training camp is enough to say he's going to be a great QB, but I do think it is worth pointing out the difference in his results as compared to a vet QB who has not historically been known for his aggressive decision making on the field. In fact, one could argue that Darnold's career has been more defined by the plays he hasn't attempted than the ones he has despite having the physical gifts and mind to play QB at a high level.

McCarthy still has a lot to prove obviously, but if there is one thing that should be in little doubt it is that McCarthy has that extra "it" factor on the field. He is not afraid to test a defender or a defense with his arm. If he can continue to work on the finer aspects of his game and awareness, McCarthy is a guy who could end up throwing a lot of TDs. And while I'm all for KOC taking the conservative approach to throwing McCarthy out there, if there is a rookie QB in this year's class who would probably be the least phased by something like that I think McCarthy is that QB despite his relative inexperience.

[VikingsVictorious]

McCarthy is dominating practice after practice. This idea of redshirting him a year is looking like a ridiculous notion. The starting QB should be a competition with the best player winning.

[CharVike]

McCarthy is dominating practice after practice. This idea of redshirting him a year is looking like a ridiculous notion. The starting QB should be a competition with the best player winning.

If they did a good evaluation there's no reason why this guy shouldn't be in the lineup. He's young but he has 2 years of starting experience in a pressure packed situation. That should help. It's good talk about how the development should go but there's nothing set in stone. The examples are all over the board. JJM will go through growing pains. They can't sit around and go through that next season because they will get fired. At least they should but that's Wilf's determination. If we end up in the basement I don't see how they can survive.

[Cliff]

McCarthy is dominating practice after practice. This idea of redshirting him a year is looking like a ridiculous notion. The starting QB should be a competition with the best player winning.

From a week ago:

I have no preconceived, preset depth chart in my mind beyond, I believe I said at the end of spring, Sam was the number one quarterback," O'Connell said in his pre-camp press conference. "Sam had a great spring. J.J. came in here after being drafted and had a really productive spring as well. So, my message to those guys is I want a really competitive situation. Sam will be taking the majority of his reps with that first group, but I think you'll see J.J. maybe get some as well. But also, it's about the quality as much as the volume of those reps throughout camp.

KOC has maintained it'll be a true competition. I think they just didn't expect him to have caught on as much as he has so far and they didn't want to put pressure on him that he "had" to. Here's an article from today:

Vikings' Kevin O'Connell says J.J. McCarthy is on track for 'consistent' first-team reps in QB competition

Sam Darnold has been the front-runner in the Minnesota Vikings' quarterback competition since the day he arrived. A week into 2024 training camp, however, rookie J.J. McCarthy is finally on track for "consistent" first-team reps of his own, coach Kevin O'Connell revealed Tuesday, suggesting the first-round draft pick is prepared to start absorbing some of Darnold's snaps.

"Uh, yeah," O'Connell said when asked if the Vikings are approaching McCarthy's integration into the starting offense at practice. "I think my assessment is essentially how I wanted things to go early on. Sam's really taken the majority of the one reps. J.J.'s gotten some reps -- twos vs. ones -- where he might not be out there with the one offense, but he's certainly seeing some things that will allow him to start phasing into getting into the huddle ... when he gets into that first group.

"Both guys have done a lot of really good things, and some more notably visually than others," O'Connell continued. "I also think those guys have made some mistakes with the football. ... You will at some point see J.J. be consistently maybe getting a little more one reps there. But at the same time I feel like Sam earned the right to get the bulk of those reps early on."

[VikingsVictorious]

McCarthy is dominating practice after practice. This idea of redshirting him a year is looking like a ridiculous notion. The starting QB should be a competition with the best player winning.

From a week ago:

I have no preconceived, preset depth chart in my mind beyond, I believe I said at the end of spring, Sam was the number one quarterback," O'Connell said in his pre-camp press conference. "Sam had a great spring. J.J. came in here after being drafted and had a really productive spring as well. So, my message to those guys is I want a really competitive situation. Sam will be taking the majority of his reps with that first group, but I think you'll see J.J. maybe get some as well. But also, it's about the quality as much as the volume of those reps throughout camp.

KOC has maintained it'll be a true competition. I think they just didn't expect him to have caught on as much as he has so far and they didn't want to put pressure on him that he "had" to. Here's an article from today:

Vikings' Kevin O'Connell says J.J. McCarthy is on track for 'consistent' first-team reps in QB competition

Sam Darnold has been the front-runner in the Minnesota Vikings' quarterback competition since the day he arrived. A week into 2024 training camp, however, rookie J.J. McCarthy is finally on track for "consistent" first-team reps of his own, coach Kevin O'Connell revealed Tuesday, suggesting the first-round draft pick is prepared to start absorbing some of Darnold's snaps.

"Uh, yeah," O'Connell said when asked if the Vikings are approaching McCarthy's integration into the starting offense at practice. "I think my assessment is essentially how I wanted things to go early on. Sam's really taken the majority of the one reps. J.J.'s gotten some reps -- twos vs. ones -- where he might not be out there with the one offense, but he's certainly seeing some things that will allow him to start phasing into getting into the huddle ... when he gets into that first group.

"Both guys have done a lot of really good things, and some more notably visually than others," O'Connell continued. "I also think those guys have made some mistakes with the football. ... You will at some point see J.J. be consistently maybe getting a little more one reps there. But at the same time I feel like Sam earned the right to get the bulk of those reps early on."

I made an official prediction that McCarthy starts week one on the Purple Pain forum.

[Cliff]

I made an official prediction that McCarthy starts week one on the Purple Pain forum.

Apparently the Vegas odds are 30%.

[VikingsVictorious]

I made an official prediction that McCarthy starts week one on the Purple Pain forum.

Apparently the Vegas odds are 30%.

Those odds are way up from pre training camp.